


At the end of the rose

by LovingStars



Category: CountryHumans
Genre: Add characters later, Drama, F/F, F/M, History, Love, Sex, Wars, political moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:34:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24573145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovingStars/pseuds/LovingStars
Summary: Prequel of A night in ParisEmpires, realms marked by promise, and where love blossoms and despair is never far away.
Relationships: France/United Kingdom (Anthropomorphic), Thirteen Colonies/ New France
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Au bout de la rose](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24571231) by [LovingStars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovingStars/pseuds/LovingStars). 



A story of empire, love, promise, war and revolution leading empires to their end and the birth of nations .  
The stories of these ancient empires waking up from their dark tombs to be on the front of the stage again, to the sovereigns who have been with them and brought them to their highest prestige or to their inevitable end.  
This happened from the 17th to the end of the Second World War.

All those memories, those moments lived by her and the other countries . All her past loves of which there remains only the memory of a kiss, of a caress on the body . This made the woman smile, who remember all this. While she was sitting in a small restaurant, very little known among the countries and even less among the humans.


	2. The end of the Renaissance

On May 14, 1643,

Death had taken with her the King Louis XIII in the new castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. His body rested in his bed, beside him was his widowed wife, Anne of Austria with their two young sons, Louis and Philippe. All three were kneeling against the bed mourning their late father and husband. In the room was present Cardinal Mazarin and the Kingdom of France who watched the scene without a word. The king of France looked with a certain sadness at the body of her sovereign Louis XIII, who left in mourning his wife Anne of Austria and their two children, alone in front of their enemies.

Before retiring to her chambers, she whispered in the ear of Anne of Austria:

"Be strong, my queen. You will have to keep all your strength for Louis, who is too young to govern and to counter those who will try to remove him from power or to take some of it from him. Do not fall into melancholy and do not be passive. You will have to lead as regent."

She left without waiting for the regent’s reply.

Arriving in her chambers, the woman took off her dress and picked up the red rose that is in her corset and placed it on her secretary, later taking off her corset that she carelessly threw on the floor followed by her stockings and shoes. She looked at herself in the cold water basin she had asked to refresh herself before going to bed. She took a piece of cloth, soaked it in water and put it on her face. Removing her makeup and all her fatigue. Once again contemplating her reflection, she seemed to question it ,on what she had to do now.Kingdom of France sighed before closing her beautiful silver eyes .

Looking for answers in her mind, she could not help but recall her first encounter with Louis XIII as a king , then each of the decisions he made and all the discussions they had have. Discussions about the internal and external politics of the kingdom, the latest technological discoveries, what other European kingdoms and empires were doing. She remembered perfectly one of those discussions that was about Cardinal Richelieu.

_The night had just fallen, the festivities were not yet over. King Louis XIII was walking in his gardens, trying to get away from the noise of the reception made in his honour. And he was soon joined by the Kingdom of France, which began to march at his own pace. He turned to look at her and she could read that something seemed to bother him. But she said nothing, and preferred to wait until her sovereign decided to confide in her if he wanted to._

_The silence was cut only after several minutes of walking, when they arrived at a small bench carved in marble . The king sat and followed closely by his kingdom. She stood by him, looking at him and scrutinizing every move he made, and feeling that if she did not start the conversation they would remain silent until the guests left and his sense of hospitality was demanded. So she quietly declared behind her fan:_

_"My dear king. My dear LouisXIII, you must be careful . The danger is near, you risk weakening your power and thus your kingdom. If you don’t make the right decisions. You need to trust, the Cardinal Richelieu."_

_"It is not real! You also advise me to take this cardinal!" Louis XIII was exasperated." First of all, some people's shout his name to me in my corridors and during my walks. I never find the people who did it, they run away, through secret passages or hide. Without me being able to catch them."_

_The kingdom of France smiled behind her fan, imagining the scenes and reactions of Louis XIII._

_"However, this remains the only possible choice, if you want to save me, do not forget that I am your kingdom. I live because you make me exist, and I am subject to your decisions that will have an impact on me as on all your subjects." After having said this while inwardly, knowing that it was not really her case , a small lie that no one will ever find out. The Kingdom of France passed her hand against the cheek of the young king, passing her fingers through the long curly hair of the king. Showing her affection for him._

_Louis XIII remained silent, appreciating the sweetness of the hand of the Kingdom of France, reminding him of the maternal warmth he had little known ._

_"I know I have no choice, but if I do... I will lose power, and my decisions will be reviewed by him..." LouisXIII looked at the ground, holding his hands between his legs. Sighing, he knew he had no choice but to do it for his kingdom and his descendants._

The Kingdom of France opened her eyes and looked towards the pretty red rose. She took it back and put her fingers on its fabric petals, carried it to her lips before sitting on her bed. She was very amused that a young country that had just become an adult offered her this rose. She was trying to remember his name but she couldn’t find it, it was a very busy day. Closing her eyes again, she plunged back into her memories.

_It was summer and she was waiting for Scotland that wanted to introduce her to someone, a young country that had begun to make economic treaties between Scotland and England. They had arrived slightly late, although Scotland pulled the young man by his sleeve. Seing them, the Kingdom of France went to join them, as soon as she had begun to walk, she heard the loud voice of Scotland, who was grumbling and angry at her young friend. Accusing him of being too shy, of making a lady wait for them... Approaching, the Kingdom of France could detail the newcomer, his flag was very pale showing his youth and doubts about what his destiny reserved for him. The young country had become red when seeing the Kingdom of France, he had not expected such a beautiful woman, he believed that Scotland had exaggerated when she had described her friend to him. But now that she was in front of him, he could not hold a single glance. He fainted. The two women were surprised and had to put the young man on a bench._

_After this first meeting, Scotland teased her young friend for several weeks. He decided to see this beautiful woman again so that he could hear the sound of her voice. And he sent her a little note, and when he saw her coming, he gave her a flower. His heart was pounding, she smiled and whispered a thank you. She thought he was going to faint again. They had a long discussion, and many meetings. The young man was completely in love with her. And he swore to her at their last meeting that he would never leave her side and that he would never try to hurt her and that he would try his best to save her no matter what even if he went against his own people. He didn’t want her to disappear as he considered her to be his sun. And to bring acts to his words, he offered her a red rose which he had made and which symbolized his love for her and his promise. He kissed her and she gave in to his kiss , of a man still inexperienced in the things of love._

She did not know why, she had accepted his love while currently she did not even remember his name. A simple curiosity about what was a passionate love from another country, she did not know if she loved him .

The kingdom of France fell asleep, the rose resting against her chest.


	3. The Regence

The heir of the crown of France , due to being too young to be sacred, the kingdom’s governance was governed by the regency council created by Louis XIII who was suspicious of his wife Anne of Austria and his brother the Duke of Orleans who had participated in plots against Richelieu . This council of regency was thus composed of Anne of Austria, the Duke of Orleans but also some the faithful men of Richelieu whose most important was Cardinal Mazarin. But Anne of Austria, on 18 May 1643, moved to Parliament with her eldest son, Louis XIV, to have this disposition broken and to be entrusted with the powers of the regency until the majority of her son. She kept Mazarin at her side to lead France, this decision provoked many disapproval of French political circles who did not like to see an Italian and a faithful of Richelieu rule France.

The Kingdom of France looked with amusement at the various events that followed one another, and she was still holding a great correspondence with this young country which called itself the United Kingdom . He sent her an incredible number of letters, filled with sweet words of love, poem and finally more common subject. But they never spoke of politics, she had tried several times to discuss these subjects but he had always refused to hear a single word or to write a single one.

His opinion remained neutral on geopolitical problems. The United Kingdom wanted to escape from everyday life, which was full of political and moral matters. England kept on harping on him to distrust everyone, and to be careful because the other kingdoms see their interest first before thinking about their friendship or any feelings contrary to reason. The United Kingdom wondered why England was so suspicious about the other kingdoms and why he seemed so hateful towards some of the other kingdoms. The young man had tried to ask Scotland, but she replied that she knew nothing about it. Then he wrote to the one he loved and hoped she would feel the same way about him.

After receiving his letter, the Kingdom of France smiled while reading it and reflected on what she would reply to him, she knew that she could not tell him the truth. Then she hid from him the reason for England’s distrust and wrote that she knew nothing of it and that he had always been like this. She knew that in his heart , England had admired her in his youth, that he always looked at her but she had refused his feelings . A hatred had taken hold of his heart and he could not separate it. And mingling with hatred, jealousy and frustration had partially taken what remains of his heart. Rare were the times when they could argue without declaring a war, it was the same story with the Holy Roman Germanic Empire.  
After all, there were very few countries that were women and they were almost all married or widowed. And knowing these two men, she knew very well that they would never marry someone of a lower rank than theirs. They wanted a woman who had as much power as they did to be able to combine their two forces and to have a powerful heir, to govern an empire.

She remembered all the times she had humiliated them on the battlefield, which was probably the main reason why they were trying to marry her. The last battle was her heart and they wanted to win it, to have the pleasure of fully possessed her. Unfortunately, for them the Kingdom of France loved her freedom of movement and saw no interest in marrying or uniting completely to another kingdom. And above all, she loved the pleasures of the flesh, making new experiences whether alone or with others.

Smiling as she reflected on the number of lovers men and women she had. Her thoughts were interrupted by a closing door, Kingdom of France turned around and saw her daughter New France standing upright in front of the door, holding a small package in her hands. Her mother looked at her surprised and asked who had given her this, the girl replied that it was the gift of one of the Amerindian tribes. Kingdom of France opened the little box and found a pair of beaver fur gloves accompanied with a letter. After reading her lover’s letter, she wrote him a reply and gave it to Nouvelle France, which often travelled between the two continents.

1648: Period of the Fronde

The kingdom of France looked with a certain uneasiness at the growing protests against her young sovereign. She feared it would be a revolution like in England, which was still not in a period of calm. In their two situations it was the parliamentarians who challenge the use of royal authority and the control it exercises. It began in Paris, when the Parliament of Paris opposed the taxes that Mazarin wanted to raise. The protest increased more and more among the sword nobility. But what was the trigger of this period, which will be called the Fronde, was the day of the arrest of two councillors in the Parliament of Paris, René Potier de Blancmesnil and Pierre Broussel nicknamed the «father of the people».  
These two councillors were appreciated by the people of Paris. Following their arrest ordered by Anne of Austria who was trying to protect the interests of her two sons, a riot broke out in the street of Abre-Sec and followed by a serie of barricade .The people of Paris demanded that the two men be freed, and that their presence among the parliamentarians be enlarged. The Kingdom of France during that day, she was in the private apartments of the regent, who was reluctant to release the two men, whom she had arrested following the advice of her minister.  
The two women were waiting in the Royal Palace for the latest news.

A few days passed, the two men were released. But, Anne of Austria could not sleep peacefully, in the middle of the night she went to awaken her Kingdom.  
France went to open her door , she was surprised to see the regent at this late hour, she did not immediately ask her what was wrong and let her sit on her bed. Carefully closing her door. She sat next to Anne of Austria. France noticed that the woman’s hands were shaking, and to reassure her, France moved closer to Anne of Austria and took her hands and caressed them gently. She was looking at the regent who was regaining her colors.

"My dear France, I wish to speak of woman to woman of the same rank." Declared Anne of Austria with a still tremulous voice as she looked straight into the eyes of France.

"All right, tell me what’s in your heart and that keeps you from sleeping." France replied gently, continuing to caress the hands of Anne of Austria.

"I'm affaid not for myself, but for my sons. In particular for Louis, he is still too young to rule and I am afraid that some will try to rob him of what is rightfully his. I can only trust very few people. Most of the aristocracy hates me, and distrusts me. They think that I will offer you to my origin kingdom . But I will not do it because all my actions are for my sons .They are all I have in this world."

"You must remain strong for them and especially for Louis so that he may one day be crowned king."  
"I believe in you . I certainly had a difficult life . I fell into many traps in my youth and I made many mistakes, alongside my friend La Chevreuse. Many nobles humiliated me, mocked me. It is now time for me to take revenge and prepare the ground for my little Louis to become a great king."  
For another hour, the two women discussed about everything and nothing but essentially about their children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To learn more ( in french):
> 
> Mémoire sur la période de LouisXIII à Louis XIV:
> 
> https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k36311h/f1.item
> 
> Première révolution anglaise:
> 
> https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premi%C3%A8re_r%C3%A9volution_anglaise
> 
> Journée des barricades 1648:
> 
> https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journ%C3%A9e_des_barricades_(1648)
> 
> Pierre Broussel:
> 
> https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Broussel
> 
> Palais Royal:
> 
> https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais-Royal


	4. New encounters

The young United Kingdom could not hide his excitation as they comes near the palace of the Holy Roman Empire, a party was going to happen between the different kingdoms and their families. Followed by activities during a full month to help the people to know each other. There would be practically no official humans, just some domestic. It was in those events that marriage alliance were made. And that's for this reason that he had do go there, but it would be England who will choose his bride, by putting the interest of the crown in long and short time. Even if United Kingdom was not in love with her. The young man knew that he will never marry the woman that made his heart beat with intensity and made him insane with love. The worst is that she will be present in this meeting. He didn't know if he could talk to her without being reprimand by England. He just wished to observe her, to see her gleam in the room. It would be enough for him.   
The cab stopped at the front door of the sumptuous palace. The people inside gets out of it, to be immediately welcomed by a servant who led them to the entrance hall. Where the host and his two daughters, the oldest was born from his legal marriage whereas the second was born from one of his adventure with a lady of bad reputation in society. This adultery had break his wedding and led to a huge argument with his son, who went at his mother side while his sister left to live some times with her uncle. The loss of the support of his only son was unbearable for the Holy Roman Empire, and he was remembered every-time England used it to stir the knife in his wound as many times as he could whenever he had the opportunity. By showing that his sons had not left him to join their mother. It was with disgust that the two men greeted each other. Then the two young women had to be greeted. England approached the elder, and greeted her without any repugnance. He had always found her splendid, as she takes the beauty side of her mother, but unless her the young woman eyes were silver blue. Seeing that the United Kingdom and Oliver who would later be known as the Thirteen Colonies, had finished greeting their host of this evening who had meanwhile gone outside. England decided to introduce the two young women at his sons.  
“So, the pretty young woman here is called Guinevere she is the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Empire and next to her is her bastard sister, you do not need to greet her.” Quietly declared England and then introduced the two young men. Guinevere bowed and told them that her elder brother was in the gardens. The other young woman trembled a little at the words of England, but she tried at best to not provoke a scandal which would make her lose the little esteem that her father had for her.   
“Thank you. Will you be able to present them to your brother while I discuss with the other kingdoms?” Asked in the same tone England. 

"Of course," replied the young woman, and she gave a sign of fan to the two young men to follow her and to her sister to do the same.  
The small group went silently in the palace. 

The United Kingdom asked for the name of the second young woman. She replied that her name was Julia and that he had better not talk to her too much to avoid getting angry with his relatives. The young man did not understand why she would said that. But before he could ask any more questions, Oliver took him by the arm to make him move faster through the corridors. While Guinevere looked sadly at her little sister not knowing what to do to cheer her after the remarks that’s hurt her.  
The young people came into the gardens. The plants overlap harmoniously, interspersed by some statues and benches of marble or wood. Before they could take another step, a young lady ran towards them, shouting the names of the two women. The young woman had long white hair that fell like a waterfall on her bare shoulders, her body was blue and on her face three golden lily flowers could be seen. The stranger threw herself into the arms of Guinevere and made her fall to the ground, the two young women laughed out loud while Julia blushed completely embarrassed by the scene. The two young women rose up and the newcomer went to kiss Julia, who startled at this sign of affection.  
The newcomer presented herself to the two men, she was called New-France. She observed in detail the two young men and after all the presentations were finished. The youngs went to the place where the New-France came from.

At the foot of a tree, three young people observed the scene between the three sisters with a certain amusement. The oldest of the three rose, and with a big smile he went to join the newcomers but especially to tease his sisters before finally introducing himself. His name was Augustus, United Kingdom was quite impressed by the radiance of his golden eyes shining like suns in contrast to his pure white skin. Augustus also introduced the two people who were at his side. The young woman with light blue skin was called Akulina and the young man with red skin was called Artiom. They were both children of the kingdom of Russia and a Mongolian princess.   
After all the presentations were finally finished, the young people were able to discuss their passions, the last events...   
A servant came to warn them that their dinner had rung before leaving without further delay. Oliver grumbled that dinner time was already too soon at what New France added that she was getting hungry and that they would have plenty of time to discuss after dinner. The two youngs had fun throwing themselves little pickets, smiling before running off to race to be the first one to the stairs. 

The red rose to the cheeks of the United Kingdom by seeing the behaviour of the one he considers his elder brother. Guinevere reassured him that there was no shame to fear and that it was better for these two to have fun now instead of causing a scandal during dinner.   
The seating arrangement around the table separated the small group. Augustus, having sat beside his mother, and found himself for his greatest pleasure in front of Akulina, whose cheeks had turned purple at the sight of the young man. She tried to hide her feelings that were resurfacing on the surface by focusing on what her father was doing on her right. He was in the middle of a discussion with his third wife. A woman who only listened and did not dare to upset him or to express any objection like a doll. 

Further on, Guinevere was seated to the right of her father and Julia to his left. They were facing Prussia and his young son Edmund, whose skin was black, white and red. The discussions were cold and always turned on the same topics. This deeply annoyed the two girls. But they weren’t the only ones stuck in completely flat conversations. At the other end of the table, Oliver and the United Kingdom had to put up with England’s discourse about the benefits of the latest technical advances in agriculture.   
Fortunately, the meal ended after several long hours. And most of them left either to rest in their room or to play games in the living room or to discuss the last read books. United Kingdom decided to go into the living room to be able to discuss with the Kingdom of France about the last books, it was the only way he could afford to be with her. The young man quietly made his way into the living room, avoiding England, which was discussing with a little woman whose name was unknown to the United Kingdom.

The disappearance of the United Kingdom did not escape to Oliver, who quickly cast a glance to see where he was but he was interrupted by New France who wanted to discuss with him. Immediately abandoning the search for his little brother to concentrate on New France, and after several minutes of discussion they went outside to admire the stars. The wind was slightly icy, which made New France shudder. Seeing this, Oliver unbuttoned his frock coat and put it on the young woman’s shoulders. She blushed and to thank him New France put her lips on his cheek. This little kiss made the young man blush more. Which made New France laugh. They spent much of the night talking, laughing and blushing. Before falling asleep against each other with only the moon and the stars as witnesses. 

The scene made Auguste and Akulina smile, they had left earlier to take a romantic stroll in the gardens. To prevent the two young lovers from being compromised in this awkward situation, Augustus lifted up his sister while Akulina tried to wake Oliver, who startled and nearly hit the young lady’s head. After some awkward excuses, he got up and saw that his lover was deeply asleep in the protective arms of her brother, he was all the more relieved. They went discreetly towards the palace, quietly climbing the stone steps. To find that the door that leads to the inside was closed. Luckily, Artiom, who had seen them from the window of his room, made them understand that he was going to come down to open the door. The young man moved very quietly through the halls of the palace.

When he arrived at the door, he used the key given to him by the Kingdom of France before she went to her room because she had noticed that two of her children had gone outside and that she could not give it to the United Kingdom, he was too closely watched by England. Also she found Artiom cute with his golden spots underneath his eyes. She also wanted to see how the UK would react if she had fun with another man. They were adults after all.

Once inside, Artiom told Oliver where his room was, and seeing his hesitation in the dark, he took him by the hand and led him to the room which he shared with the United Kingdom. At the same time, Auguste and Akulina went to the chamber of New France and Guinevere. This one startled when they came, she had just put on her clothes to sleep. Once this was done, the two lovers looked at each other before kissing each other softly and without a sound, then they separated to reach their respective rooms.

At the same time in the shared room of the United Kingdom and Oliver, the newcomer undressed quickly before putting on a nightgown just as fast. United Kingdom sighed completed tired before asking his brother where he had gone to return so late and that fortunately most of the people were too busy to care where he had gone. Oliver giggled and replied with a cheerful smile that he was at the side of an angel. And he could not detach himself from her gaze, her voice and her laughter.  
His little brother got up to make him stop talking.

"It’s time for us to go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow morning for activities." Whispered in a tired voice UK before going back to bed.

It amused Oliver who in turn joined his bed, the sleep catching up quickly.

The awakening was harsh for the two young men, the sun had just come from this sunrise that they had to prepare for the day. Around 7 am, breakfast was served in the large reception room. That was one of the few times when there was no allocation around the table. The vast majority of the guests had not yet gone down to take their breakfast, some like the Holy Roman Empire was being brought breakfast in their room.

On the long table, there was an astronomical amount of slice of bread distributed in small baskets, accompanied by small cakes with honey, others sprinkled with chocolate, mountains of pastry, several bowls of creams and mousses, some seasonal fruits. All these dishes were accompanied by several drinks like fruit juices, a few bottles of wine, fresh water, fruit syrups, tea, coffee and finally hot milk with or without chocolate. All these dishes were very tempting for Oliver and Kingdom-United, they settled for a few pieces of honey cakes and two pastries accompanied by tea for the United Kingdom and hot chocolate for Oliver.

Seated at the table was the Kingdom of Russia accompanied by his two children and his wife, they exchanged no words. The only one who spoke at the table was Oliver, who told his brother about one of his adventures in North America, and spoke so loudly that he captured the attention of the Kingdom of Russian. The two men even ended up discussing the various dangers of the wild nature, the creatures they met and conquered. As this heated discussion unfolded, two new people joined the table. The United Kingdom turned around to see who it was, feeling some relief when he saw New France and her brother, he greatly hoped that England would decide to stay in his room and have his meal brought there. The two newcomers settled next to Oliver, who greeted them quickly before returning to the narration of his adventure. When it was over, he asked Augustus if he had experienced anything similar. The man hesitated to answer, but the curious looks of Oliver, the kingdom of Russia and his two children takes off his hesitation. He then began to recount one of his many adventures and his encounter with certain legendary creatures found in the popular tales of Europe. His story satisfied those who listened to him, Then it was again the turn of the Kingdom of Russia to tell a story, he chose to tell them a legend that existed in his native land. So he told them a strange story about an object that was lost on his land, an object that could bring some people back to life but also to return to times that had disappeared. But from whom it came it was ignored as well as where it might be and its form provoked many debates. However this object can only be used by a person who had Russian royal blood. Many people had looked for it, but they all came back empty-handed. At these last words the Kingdom of Russia began to burst into laughter without stopping, at his side his wife trembled while his children remained of marble. The great man rose up, always laughing, his wife followed him.

When they had left the room all those present looked at each other not knowing how to break the ice. His laughter was always heard. It was not the laugh of a man of sound mind.   
After the breakfast incident, the men went to prepare for the court hunt while the majority of the women went to the small salon to embroider and discuss. Some women went into the gardens to enjoy the gentle warmth of the sun.  
For a month, the days were full of activities, political and religious debates. So much that the only quiet moments were the morning before breakfast and the evening after dinner. But the worst were the times of court hunting, with several accidents, whether intentional or not. There were so many that the United Kingdom tried to avoid participation as much as possible. The result was it irritate England, who sanctioned him verbally and physically.

In addition, the United Kingdom hid his brother Oliver’s love affair with New France, in order to avoid further irritating England, which no doubt had other plans for Oliver.  
It was on leaving the England chamber that the United Kingdom heard cries, and an argument who took place further. Discreetly United Kingdom approached the place of the dispute, he did not have time to take one more step as the door opened wide. Guinevere came out of the room shouting something in German behind her before leaving next of the United Kingdom, he followed her to the gardens.  
The young man did not know what to do to comfort the young woman. She quickly began to tell him what had happened, her father wanted to prepare his succession and after questioning his advisors, he decided to marry her to the Prussian son, Edmund. To ensure his legitimacy in taking the Empire. The problem was that Guinevere did not love him at all and that she found him rude, unbearable and ugly. The United Kingdom tried his best to comfort her, that there might be a way to break this marriage contract but she was not convinced by his ideas. 

The young man was still unaware of it but this past month, these meetings, these budding loves were the first fundamental act of the tragedy that would hurt all of them.


End file.
